News

December 13, 2013

Dad Gifts Daughters with Lottery Ticket Worth $27,777

Melissa Riney of Revere and Shana Reed of Alexandria don’t often play the Missouri Lottery, but they just did something desired by most Lottery enthusiasts. Riney, 39, and Reed, 35, uncovered a top prize on a “Triple Winning 7s” Scratchers ticket, earning the sisters a $27,777 payday.

“It was given to us as a gift from our dad,” Reed began, noting that their father, Robert, gifts them both with tickets “every once in a while,” because he knows the two don’t play much on their own.

Reed teased that after she and Riney scratched off the winning ticket, her dad might’ve been “wishing he would’ve kept it (ticket) himself.”

“We’ll make sure to do something nice for him,” Reed beamed, while claiming the prize with Riney at Lottery headquarters on Dec. 10.

Reed and Riney, both mothers of three, said their kids and husbands “were very excited” to hear the good news.

“We have bills to pay, so it was like, ‘Okay, don’t get too excited. You’re not going to have a crazy Christmas, but this is taken care of,’” Reed said. “It’s a blessing.”

Riney echoed her sister’s sentiments, adding that she and her husband also plan to use the windfall to pay bills.

She joked that she is still “waiting for someone to say it’s not true.”

“Things like that just don’t happen to us,” Riney reflected.

The winning ticket was sold at Ayerco, 442 S. Johnson St., in Kahoka.

“Triple Winning 7s” is a $2 game with a top prize of $27,777 and more than $16 million in total prizes.